martineau



July 15, 1930. H. F. MARTINEAU GRATE Filed July 23 1925 2 SheetsSheet 1 z if )h TNESS July 15, 1930.

H. F. MAYRTINEAU GRAT E Filed July 23,

1925 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 .Z' raw-0 irroz/vsvs Patented July I5, 1939 HENRY F..MARTINEAU, GE SOlZ-VAY, NEW YORK GRATE Application filed July 23, 1925. Serial No. 45,595.

This invention relates to a lire boxgrate for locomotive boilers and analagous uses adapted to receive and support coal and other solid fuel and involves the use of longitudinally taperec grate bars journaled side by side in a suitable supporting frame to rock about parallel axes and arranged so that al ternate bars are tapered in reverse directions are arranged and adapted to be operated in.

groups.

The main object is to'provlde a more el cient means for breaking up the chnkers, slag and other solidified residue of the burned fuelwhich may lodge upon the grate and thereby interfere with the free draft of air necessary to support combustion of the unburned fuel. One of the specific objects is to provide means whereby the bars of certain groups may be operated in one directionand those of the adjacent group in a reverse direction at one and the same time.

Another object is to enable each set of re versely moving groups to be operated independently of other sets so as to break up the clinkers and ash in relatively small sections of the entire grate area as may be necessary to expedite the combustion of the fuel indifferent portions of the fire box.

Another object is to provide each grate bar with a plurality of perforations or slots for draft purposes and also to permit the burning of finely comminuted fuel andallow the finer ash to sift therethrough to the underlying ash pit.

Another object is to provide the bars with straight tapered sides or edges which, when the bars are closed lie in substantially the same flat plane with their edges in close ju'xta position and parallel but when rocked from their closed position toward more or less vertical positions the edges of the bars of adjacent groups, will'lie in intersecting planes and thereby assist in breaking up the continuity of any clinkers which may lodge thereon at which time the edgesof the grate bars will be separated a -'sufficient distance to allow the broken up clinkers to fall therethrough into the underlying ash pit. p

' Other objects and uses relating to specific parts of the device will be brought out in the following description.

I In the drawings 2 r Figure 1 is a top plan of my improved grate and operating means'therefor, showing the supporting frame by dotted lines.

' igure 2 is a longitudinal vertical sectional view of the same grate taken in the plane of line 2 2, Figure 1, the dotted lines indicating portions of the supporting frame.

Figure 3 is an enlarged longitudinal vertical sectional view of portions of the grate and operatin means taken on line .33, Figure 1. I s I Figure l is an enlarged transverse vertical sectional view taken in the plane of line 44, r l- 1 r In'order that the invention may be clearly understood I have shown by dotted lines a main supporting frame -A for supporting the grate and also forming a part ofthe fire box, said frame being preferably rectangular and. elongated from front to rear and is provided with opposite parallel side bars land an intermediate [lengthwise bar 2 substantially midway between and parallel with the lengthwise side bars l thereby.

. dividing the frame into two compartments or sections of equal area for receiving and. supporting two snnilar sets of end and inter-' mediate grate bars 3 and 3, those of each set being arranged side by side in se quenoe from end to end and within the open ing of the frame A.

These 7 bars extend journaled therein to rock about parallel axes.

transversely] of the I frame A and are pivotally mounted or c which, in this instance, are also par ll l i p p the ends of the frame, h p t l, bearings being preferably arranged in uniformly V,

spaced relation from front, to rear of the frame.

For this purpose the opposite side rails Y 1" and intermediate rail 2 of the frame A are providedwith pivotal pins spectively with sockets 5 and 5' constituting journal bearings for receiving the trunnions 4-- and 4, the sockets -5' being preferably open at the bottom to facilitate the placing and removal of the grate bars ,without disturbing any of the parts of the frame.

, For example,if it is desired to remove any one of the bars, the end having the open sided socket 5' may be lifted out of engagement with its pivotal trunnion until clear of the adjacent portion of the frame and may then be withdrawn endwise from engagement with the opposite stud or bearing or by reversin these movements the bar may be replace in operative position where it will be held by its own weight, aided by the engagement of the trunnions in their corre sponding sockets.

All of the bars are tapered from end to end and are assembled in the frame in such manner that adjacent bars are tapered in opposite directions with their adjacent edges in close parallel spaced relation.

The opposite longitudinal edges of each of the intermediate bars -3 are straight and converge from one end toward the other end and at equal angles to its axis of movementwhich axis is therefore midway between the longitudinal edges, but the outer edges of the end bars 3 are preferably parallel with their respective axes to conform to the angle between the ends and sides of the frame.

The inner longitudinal edges of the end bars 3 are parallel with the adjacent edges of the next adjacent intermediate bars so that their angles with their respective axes are substantially the same as the angles of the sides of the intermediate bars wit their corresponding axes.

Each bar is provided with a series of rows of perforations consisting in this instance of lengthwise slots -6 wholly within the marginal edges thereof for draft purposes and also to permit the passage of the finer ash therethrough.

As previously stated the adjacent bars of each section are tapered in op osite directions so that the wide end of eacli bar will be at the same side as the narrow end of the next adjacent bar throughout the length of each section.

The upper faces of the bars are substantial- 1y Hat, and are disposed in substantially the horizontal plane when closed but owing i to th e reversely tapered relation of adjacent bars'it isevident that when they are turned from their normal closed positions toward more or" less vertical positions the edges of adjacent bars will lie in intersecting planes as indicated by dotted lines in Figure 4, the object of which is to break up the clinkers and other solidified matter which may lodge a: thereon into sufliciently small pieces so that they may readily fall through the spaces between the tilted bars as shown by dotted lines in Figure 3.

These locomotive grates are necessaril of large area and in order that the grate ars may be conveniently manipulated for clearing them of clinkers and ash it is preferable to provide some means whereby they may be operated in relatively small groups or sets and for this purpose the bars of each section at opposite sides of the central partition 2 areseparated into a plurality of, in this instance, four groups and those of each group are coupled together for simultaneous rocking movement in one direction.

Suitable means is provided, however, for rocking adjacent groups in reverse directions by one and the same operation for the urpose of crushing the clinkers or solidified residue between the bars of the opposed groups and thereby to further increase the efliciency of the grate in breaking up. crushing and removing the clinkers therefrom in relatively small areas as may be required to relieve various portions of the grate from congested ash or clinkers.

As illustrated each half of the grate is composed of four groups of grate bars viz, the end groups each comprising three bars and the intermediate groups each comprising two bars.

The bars of each end group and those of the adjacent intermediate group constitute what may be termed a set in that they are coupled together by operating links in such manner that the groups of each set are rocked simul taneously in reverse directions from normal horizontal'positions toward more or less vertical positions for breaking up and crushing the clinkers between the grate bars of eac set and also for increasing the openings between the bars to allow the crushed clinkers to fall therethrough.

For this purpose, the bars of the end groups are provided with downwardly projecting and inwardly curved crank arms 7 while the bars of the intermediate groups are pro vided with downwardly and outwardly curved crank arms -7, said crank arms being preferably located substantially midway between the pivoted ends of the grate bars as shown more clearly in Figure 4.

The lower ends of the crank arms -7 of the bars of each end group are pivotally connected to a horizontally extending operating link 8- whereby the longitudinal movement of the link in either direction, forwardly or rearwardly, will impart a rocking movement to the grate bars of that particular group in one and the same direction.

In like manner, the lower ends of the crank arms 7 of each intermediate group are pivotally connected to a longitudinally extending link -8 which, when moved longitudinally in either direction, forwardly or rearwardly, will impart a rocking movement III group in one the front set of bars are controlled by a single hand lever 9 which is pivotally mounted at -10 upon a fixed bracket 11 on the front portion of the main supporting frame -A.

This lever 9 is provided with a downwardly extending crank arm 12 connected by a link 13 to the intermediate portion of a rock arm 14 which is pivoted at 15 to the bracket -1l at the rear of the lever pivot 10- and extends clownwardly from the pivot 15, the lower end of said rock arm 14- bein connected by a link 16 to the rear end of the link 8 as shown more clearly in Figures 2 and 3 whereby the upward movement of the free end of the hand lever 9 from its normal position shown by full lines in Figures 2 and 3 will cause the three grate bars of the front end group to be rocked to the position shown by dotted lines in Figure 3.

The hand lever 9- is also provided with an additional upwardly and rearwardly projecting crank arm -l7 which is connected by a link 18 to another rock arm l9-, which is pivotally mounted at 15 upon the rear end of the bracket 11 coaxial with the rock arm 14 and has its lower end connected by a link to the rear end of the link 8, Figures 2 and 3, whereby the upward movement of the free end of the hand lever 9 will cause the two corresponding grate bars 3 to be rocked toward a vertical position indicated by dotted lines in Figure 3 and in a direction opposed to that of the companion grate bars of the same set.

In like manner, the rear set of grate bars of each half of the grate are operated by a separate lever 9' which is fulcrumed on a bracket 11 on the main supporting frame A preferably co-axial with the lever 9.

The lever -9 and its connections with the links 8- and 8 of the two groups of the rear set of grate bars are similar to those described for operating the links 8- and 8 of the two groups of the front set except that the lower ends of the rock arms or bell crank levers 14- and 19- are connected by links -16- and 20' to the links 8 and 8 respectively for rocking the bars of the corresponding groups in reverse directions;

'of the levers 9 or The upper face of each grate bar is substantiallyflat and when the grate bars are in their normal closed positions the upper faces will lie in substantially the same flat plane throughout the area of the grate or at least each one-half section ofthe grate while the lower face of each grate bar is preferably convexed in cross section for stiffening purposes to prevent sagging of themtermediate portions under load of the fuel and clinkers, the crank arms -7' and 7 being preferably formed integral with the thicker portions of the bars for additionally strengthening the same.

Operation It is now evident that the grate as a whole comprises, in this lnstance, two sectlons of grate bars with four groups in each section including twoend groups of three bars each and two intermediate groups of two bars each and that the bars of each section are operated by a separate lever as 9' or 9 through the medium of its connecting links in such manner that thoseof one group will be rocked in one direction while; those of the other group of the same set will be rocked in a reverse direction from their normal closed positions toward the position shown by dotted lines in Figure 3.

This operation of the two groups of grate bars of each set in reverse directions causes the upper edges of i adjacent bars of each set to lie in more or less intersecting planes from end to end of the bars thereby bringing the upper edges of the wider ends of alternate bars at the top at a considerably greater elevation than the intermediate portions, the effect of which is to break up the continuity of the clinkers which may rest upon the grate while the rockingmovement of the upper edges of both groups of the same settend to further crush the clinkers between them at the same time that the openings between the grate bars of that set are clearly increased to allow the broken up clinkers to readily fall therethrough into the underlying ash pit.

In like manner each set of grate bars may be operated independently of the other sets to remove the clinkers at any part of the grate as they may become congested and also to enable the operator to clean the entire grate of clinkers with greater ease and less strain upon the operating parts than would be possible if all of the grate bars of either half section were operated simultaneously.

It will be evident however that if no clinkers are present on the grate and it is simply desired to remove the ashes therefrom any may be operated back and forth through limited arcs of movement to effect a corresponding rocking movement of the grate bars and thereby'to sift the ashes through the slots -6 and through the relatively narrow openings between the straight tapered edges of the bars, all of which operations contribute to the increased eflicieney of the particular grate described.

What I claim is: 1. A grate for locomotive boilers comprising a frame, a plurality of groups of grate bars arran ed in sequence longitudinally and from ront to rear of the frame and m those of each group arranged in contiguous sequential relation to rock about parallel axes extending transversely of the frame, an operating lever, and means actuated by the movement of said lever in one direction for 5 simultaneously rocking the bars of different groups in opposite directions.

2. A grate for locomotive boilers comprising a frame, a series of grate bars journaled in the frame transversely thereof and in se- 59 glance longitudinally of said frame from out to rear, a link connecting a group of adjacent bars, a second link connecting a second group of adjacent bars, and means for simultaneously shifting the'links and their 39 respective groups of bars in opposite directions as said means is moved in one direction.

3. A grate for locomotive boilers comprising a frame, a plurality of sections of grate bars, each section composed of a plurality of 80 on s of grate bars arranged in sequence ongltudinally and from front to rear of the frame and those of each group arranged in contiguous sequential relation to rock about arallel axes extending transversely of the rame, an operating lever for each of said sections and means actuated by the movement of each of said levers in one direction for simultaneously rocking the bars of different respective groups in opposite dia rections.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand this 15th day of July, 1925.

HENRY F. MARTINEAU. 

